Rising Prominence of Green Hydrogen: Driving Forces and Market Challenges
Key Ideas
  • The global green hydrogen market is projected to expand by USD 46.25 billion from 2024-2028, driven by a 66.83% CAGR, primarily due to the increasing adoption of clean fuel and a growing focus on cleaner hydrogen in refineries.
  • Despite facing challenges such as high initial costs (2-3 times more than grey hydrogen) and expensive fuel cells (1.5-2 times costlier than fossil fuel alternatives), green hydrogen remains essential in various industries, especially the chemical sector for synthesizing key chemicals like methanol and ammonia.
  • The rising demand for green feedstock and precursor molecules produced using low-CO2 and green hydrogen, particularly in sectors like automotive, electronics, and pharmaceuticals, is a significant growth driver for the global green hydrogen market.
  • Methanol derived from green hydrogen serves as a versatile fuel, blended with gasoline and used in LPG streams, contributing to its demand in sectors like transportation. China stands out as a significant consumer, blending methanol into gasoline pools and LPG streams as a cost-effective alternative.
The global green hydrogen market is poised for substantial growth, with estimates suggesting a rise of USD 46.25 billion between 2024 and 2028, propelled by a remarkable 66.83% CAGR. This surge is largely attributed to the increasing acceptance of clean fuel alternatives, with a particular emphasis on leveraging cleaner hydrogen in the refining sector. However, the market encounters a significant hurdle in the form of the high initial costs associated with green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen, generated through water electrolysis using renewable energy sources, incurs a setup cost that surpasses grey hydrogen derived from natural gas by a considerable margin. The price disparity is notable, with green hydrogen costing approximately 2-3 times more than grey hydrogen, and fuel cells for green hydrogen power being priced 1.5-2 times higher than their fossil fuel equivalents. Additionally, as a synthetic fuel, green hydrogen's cost is approximately 5-7 times higher than fossil jet fuel, rendering it economically unfeasible for sectors like steel, fertilizer, and long-distance shipping to readily adopt it as a primary fuel source. Despite these challenges, green hydrogen remains a critical component in the chemical industry, particularly for the production of methanol and ammonia, vital elements in the manufacturing of methanol, polymers, and ammonia that significantly benefit the fertilizer sector. Moreover, green hydrogen plays a pivotal role in manufacturing chemical compounds used in various applications such as paints, synthetic fibers, nylon, and polyurethane elastomers, catering to industries like automotive, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. The surge in demand for green feedstock and precursor molecules, manufactured using low-CO2 hydrogen and green hydrogen, continues to propel the global green hydrogen market forward, with methanol derived from green hydrogen serving as a versatile fuel in various forms, further driving its demand in sectors like transportation. With China emerging as a significant consumer of methanol and its derivatives, the blending of methanol into gasoline pools and LPG streams as a cost-effective alternative further bolsters the demand for green hydrogen. This increasing dependence on green hydrogen across multiple industry segments augurs well for the global green hydrogen market's growth trajectory in the foreseeable future.
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